The Walking Dead (TV Series) How It's Gotta Be (2017) User Reviews

Midseason finaly!!! Better than the last three episodes.

[MomentIMDB · 7/10 · 8 October 2019]

After two mediocre episodes, the midseason finally improves greatly. good points: the direction of the episode was quite solid and the improvement of this first half. Natania's death hit me and made me want to know what will happen. The action of the episode was handled very well and was well accompanied by the direction. The role played by Carl was very good and his talk with Negan was incredible. Alexandria's destruction was epic. Rick's fight and deny I loved it except for one detail. The revelation of Carl's bite was shocking. bad points: at the beginning of the episode we had a deux machina, when carol appears out of nowhere and saves rick. When Simon and the others appear, Maggie and nobody does anything, they just wait for Simon and the others completely corner them. because Ezekiel locked himself in the kingdom, if he could quietly escape with the others. When Dwight kills his teammates and Laura sees them and doesn't kill him, why? Laura saw him, she could shoot him, but she preferred to talk to him long enough for daryl and the others to shoot her and she escaped, lazy writing. The fight between Rick and Negan was very good, but in one part Rick takes Lucille and hits Negan with the handle, instead of killing him, meaningless. and again we have those close-ups of the characters, twice !!! the revelation of death I loved and it was very emotional, but the development of the character of carl was the most sins

Great episode! Don't know why the bad reviews...

[julieeder · 8/10 · 20 April 2018]

This was a great episode. I have no idea why there are so many bad reviews. Lots of intensity, great acting and of course the reveal at the end of the episode. This is the Walking Dead. I admit, this season has been the weakest in some ways, but this episode brought back what we love about this show.

emotional but also a bit confusing

[tylergeebs · 8/10 · 11 December 2017]

the mid-season finale was by far one of the best episodes of season 8 as for once i felt genuinely anxious about whats going to happen...it felt like it got back the unpredictability season 1-3 had although Carl getting bitten was what made the episodes shocking i kinda felt it a bit confusing with it switching over to random characters at random points as to me that got me bamboozled but apart from that AMC did not disappoint with its big moment hopefully we get more episodes like that...

This episode is one of the best this season

[maddietyler · 10/10 · 24 February 2020]

I have actually really liked most of this season. I think it's a lot better then most of the reviews people are giving it. I'm not going to lie I was actually a little worried going Into this season as so many people have given this season such bad reviews. This episode was great at keeping you in suspense about what was happening with Carl. And I thought Carl's confrontation with Negan was very well done. I don't usually write reviews for stuff but I thought I would put what I thought about this episode out there. This is definitely in my opinion the best episode of season eight and I really enjoyed it.

What a load of crap

[TheDonaldofDoom · 11 December 2017]

I've had enough of this s***. Are the writers high? Or maybe they're drunk. Maybe they write while on psychedelics. Who knows. And who knows how a once great show turned so goddamn awful. I don't like to give 1s because there's usually something that gives an episode merit, but screw it, this stupid show has been playing its audience long enough.

The episode starts and ends with long shots of its cast's faces. Why? I don't know! I couldn't even guess! I couldn't guess why any of what happens in this episode happens! How does Negan manage to miraculously turn the fight around and take over Alexandria? Why do the Saviors let Maggie go after cornering her and killing Neil? Wait, who's Neil? Where the hell is Jadis? Why does the episode draw out Negan's taking over of Alexandria over the whole episode? (actually, I do know the answer to that one, more ad revenue). Why is the All Out War story still not over? Why is the show STILL going over the same 'show mercy' trope after 8 seasons? Why should I care about any of this if there's no such thing as proper character development in this show anymore?

Oh, and the teased "shocking moment" was Carl getting bitten by a walker. Oh, THE FEELS. THE FEELS. I was sobbing so much, crying like a bab- no I wasn't, my only reaction was to roll my eyes. Because it's obvious the writers are making it all up as they go along. Yeah, that makes sense, why not kill off one of the two remaining characters who have been in the show since the beginning. Actually, on second thought why not kill off everyone by having a meteorite crash onto the Earth so this show can end.

I've just about had enough

[ritera1 · 6/10 · 15 December 2017]

I was amazingly agitated at the end of the last season. The Saviors were the ultimate in arrogance and really didn't like the feeling of helplessness of it all. Nevermind the long list of illogical elements of the season. (And the redundant babble of Negan.)

Then Rick finally came to his senses and decided to go to war. Good. Finally!

So we've had 7 much better episodes where the good guys quickly get the upper hand on the a'holes.

But then they decided to screw it all up and SUDDENLY we're back to where season 7 ended. And for no real reason. Where'd the rocket launchers come from? Where'd they get all these soldiers? Why are they always everywhere at all times and always know where our heroes are?

Bulls't.

They've got to end this. Negan has to die. They're trying to make him some sort of supervillian and it's garbage. End this soon.

And they farted out Carl's departure. But he was too old and had too many kills to keep wearin' daddy's hat.

That's how it's gotta be.

[nmartini-04832 · 9/10 · 9 November 2018]

Rick and Carl talk about the war with the saviors.

Decent episode for the season, Garbage for the series

[morrisonsarah · 6/10 · 12 December 2017]

This show used to have clever writing and I used to actually worry or feel connections for the characters. No longer. The writers on the Walking Dead have given up. We seriously spend 10 minutes of each episode on face montages set to weird music. The fans and the characters deserve better. I hope they finish the season well and end the series before it gets much worse. **Spoilers**

This episode cheaply killed (hopefully) Carl. I don't even like Carl and he deserved a better death than a mid season finale cliffhanger death. Like clockwork, someone must die each time this happens, so the audience is left completely without surprise. Eugene is (continues to be) garbage, even Carol is losing her awesomeness. I don't care about any of the characters anymore, especially anyone introduced after season 3. Except maybe Jerry.

The production value on the episodes has gone downhill FAST in the last season. Between the weird camera work and the writing, I don't know why I waste my time anymore.

Ignore the Haters

[bigmicah-78132 · 10/10 · 19 December 2017]

This episode was the best of Season 8. I don't know why people on this website are giving bad ratings and reviews on this episode and past episodes recently on this show. I have a feeling they are giving out 1 or 2 star ratings on purpose lol. Anyway, this episode had me and my family on my feet and my eyes were glued to the TV screen. The Rick vs Negan fight was great, but a little too short. And at the end, when Carl showed his bite on his abdomen, that had me shocked and sad, but it's just a show and these things happen. Overall, this episode was great, 10 out of 10, ignore the haters.

Unnecessarily hyped episode

[blackmetalusbm · 6/10 · 11 December 2017]

If it wasn't for the unnecessary hype from the writers, it would have been a slightly above average episode.

I was not shocked, and I do not have anything noteworthy to talk about the next day.

I think the crew should just be quiet and focus on writing and filming. Doesn't mean they can't listen to what people are saying, but constantly engaging with fans and telling them things and hyping things and not living up to it certainly can't be good for ratings.

Terrible

[shanekraus · 5/10 · 31 December 2021]

After 2 mediocre episodes, the midseason finale was an improvement. The reveal of carls bite pissed off every single fan of this show. Also the lighting of this episode was so dark to the point where you can barely see anything.

Decent episode for the season, awful for the show.

I don't know whats with the hate, I liked it :D

[ficohito · 9/10 · 16 December 2017]

True, could have been better, but its not THAT bad.

And wow that hate on Carl.. Cant believe it..

Tell me when the war is over!

[ohmap-977-664810 · 7/10 · 24 December 2017]

I have to be truthful, I haven't watched the show since the tiger was killed. However, I have been reading the reviews and keep hoping the writers will end this war. Once the war is over, I might check the show out again. I just don't want to watch 45 minutes of mindless shooting with nothing being hit.

I would ask those who say to ignore the gainsayers to tell me if the show is so hot, then why is viewership going down? If you don't believe me, look at the number of IMDB people who vote in each episode, it has been going down quite a bit with the exception of the midpoint episode that I chose not to see.

The show is going to have to watch who they kill off. I thought Abraham was a bad choice, but Shasa might have been a better choice for Lucile. If the writers were going to get rid of Carl, then why just a bite from a zombie. I would have had something terrible happen to Carl by Negan. Why didn't they let Negan carve out his other eye, or chop off his hand? If the writers are going to make this interesting, they need to shock us like the Game of Thrones. They have Negan talking to Rick about the size of his penis. Negan claims his is bigger! What do I care who has the biggest? Rick needs to ask Ramsey from the Game of Thrones what to do in cases like that!

Actually Carl was beginning to get a bit annoying for me. Nothing ever happened between him and Enid and he seriously needed a haircut; he looked more like a girl than a boy.

What we need is someone from the Game of Thrones to teach Gumball about how to shock the audience. Season five with the cannibals was good. I remember how the black dude had a limb cut off while the leader of the Terminus gang commented to the man about the culinary aspects of his leg. He explained very effectively that they were eating him only to have food. OK...now that was good. Rick beating his brains out in the church later on was also good. The writers and entertain when they want to!

I need to be shocked, not bored with more dialog. Would somebody in TWD please shoot Negan already. When the war is over, I will check the show out again. This new direction is boring me to death!

OK...the show is between a 6 and a 7, but closer to a 6 right now. Most of what we see is filler. The show won't last much longer unless a new direction in writing is taken.

We Just Need To Survive The Night,So The Writers Can Strech This Show 8 More Seasons

[adarshbohra69 · 3/10 · 11 December 2017]

In The First 5 Minutes Of This Episode Rick,Carol And That Big Fat Guy Split Up,and then Rick is nowhere to be seen till last 5 minutes of this episode,why in the hell they always kill " C Grade" Characters no one even remember the names of them,If Simon had to kill someone other than Maggie why not kill Jesus,but writers don't have the balls to do so,and what's with that montages of characters faces for nothing it's the most stupid part of this episode,at least hundred Saviors are there but they can't find carl and rick manages to find Michonne,When Rick Had Lucille in His Hands Why did not he hit Negan With full force he just got defensive so negan had time to get up again. there are too many plot holes but i will rest now,I am really very disappointed as a Loyal Walking Dead Fan For Past Years.

Best

[jamesadams-93193 · 10/10 · 29 March 2018]

Best episode because Carl, a character with a face like a slapped ass, finally gets bit and soon meets his inevitable end

Only one more character has to go

[Hydra-Is-Order · 11 December 2017]

And it's not Negan, it's Gimple. He's TWD nemesis, he's the one responsible for this huge letdown. At this point even Scott Buck would do a better job, anyone would - even a monkey, literally. AMC has already dismissed a couple showrunners, how hard is to fire a third one? However is pretty impressive how someone like this manage to last this long, at one point where is now cool to hate TWD, the same way is cool to hate Jennifer Lawrence. And the future? doesn't seem bright either, right now the show is on match with issue 120, by #175 there will be some very weird soldiers which look very much like storm-troopers, oh my... (the TV show is very loyal to the comics btw). Then at the end of all this, can you trust the same man who wrote Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance ?

AMC is becoming more greedy.

[boelsmegs · 7/10 · 12 December 2017]

It's hard to review the walking dead as a tv program anymore as even dont amc dont treat it like one. Cutting the budget of episodes and firing stars just to save money over renegotiating a contract is harming the show and stopping it from reaching its full potential. The past 2 years the show has been in demand of a bigger budget to complement successfully its bigger wold are but the budget is too low and the show is dying. I can't defend the past season as I can't lie to myself anymore. The show is going to die as amc has done the biggest disservice the its most crucial walking dead storyline and not even top cast and crew can stop them on their one way path to self destruction. Amc will be more than happy to blame this on Scott m gimple so please don't help them.

Despite the other Reviews, a great episode. *SPOILER FREE*

[Railyy · 10/10 · 11 December 2017]

* FREE FROM SPOILERS *

First of all lets address the elephant in the room.

You will see most of the reviews blaming this episode based on it's Directing and Writing.

Word of advice *Wise words are following* DO NEVER Trust random people to give you their opinion on Directing / Writing or hell even acting. Most of them (a few years back myself included) have no clue how this sh*t works or what "Directing" actually is.

People will just hate an episode for -X- reasons and blame it on the Director/Actor/Writer (you get the picture). So no, judge it for yourself, NEVER trust people on that. And if you are one of those people who didn't like the episode for a specific reason, be honest. You don't need to lie to yourself or to anybody else. You are frustrated , sad , mad or whatever it is because you wanted things to go another way. Be honest. Don't blame it on the Director or the actors.

*Review*

• Acting was on point

• Story-wise it was marvelous, a piece of art. Although we had just a few events that actually developed the story and the rest was just Action, other than that it was a piece of Art.

• Direction was overall above average, with some pretty cool touches

• Writing was okay

• The pace was okay, definitely you could feel moments where they clearly tried to kill time to make it a 1 Hour long mid season Finale, and yea there were moments that had no actual purpose, but again, compared to the rest of the Walking Dead series or even this Season, it was definitely above average.

• Character progression / development was cool , we actually saw many characters growing or/and developing emotionally in this episode (No it wasn't one of those "Long-Talks-for-no-reason" episodes, it was actually character development done right)

• The atmosphere is top notch (the fact that most of the episode takes place at night Helps a lot)

• It gives you the feel of a Major - Premium episode

• Are there things I would change ? A lot and not just in this episode but in most of the Walking Dead episodes. It just doesn't feel as Premium / Detailed / High budget as lets say Game of Throwns. And yes even the writing/directing is a lot inferior if you compare it to this kind of Series. But lets say we had to be real and down to earth for a moment and actually compare it with what it actually is, a Walking Dead episode, hell it's pretty damn good, and probably one of the best (if not the best) Mid-Season Finales ever.

Disappointing

[da_gopsta · 6/10 · 11 December 2017]

One of the reasons the first five/six seasons of this show were great, was because of the fact that for the most part, most of the characters were generally in the same place, so it was easy to follow the character arcs and find a bond with them. However, of late, there just seems to be at least ten different story arcs going on at the same time, leading to a stop-start mesh of confusion.

For a TV Series, character development is the single most important thing, and yet there appears to have been none for the main characters, and some for the likes of Eugene and Dwight. In fact, some of the characters' development have seriously dwindled, as in with the likes of Darryl and Carol. Maggie's rise to leader of Hilltop has been very unconvincing for me.

This episode was all of the above. No real character development, constantly cycling through different scenes, and quite honestly the most meh character death of the show.

I kinda don't care if the protagonists win anymore. Negan is a good character and it's unfortunate he has to have turned up at a time when there were no other currently interesting characters. I don't know how the comics go, but clearly the show is failing in its desire to stick to the storyline, so just give Negan what he deserves and let him win. Rick becomes his loyal fighter. Maggie becomes his wife. And when Negan wants to torture a prisoner in future, he can have Darryl sing Easy Street over and over again.

Something some people knew yet no one predicted in this manner

[davidbrunhoefer · 9/10 · 11 December 2017]

Before I get into the spoiler itself, I want to say that this is All Out War as it should be. There were a lot of moments in this episode that kept me guessing as to how it would play out. Outside of two characters, I felt as if anyone could have potentially died in this episode and the exchanges between Savior elites and Maggie and Ezekiel we're believable to the characters, yet still executed in a way that iced the blood in my veins.

*Spoilers*

But the big character moments were given to Carl. First was his interaction with Negan, in which he not only has some thought provoking questions about Negan's character in the present, but also unintentionally touched a few chords about Negan's past prior to meeting Rick. After those questions we see that he was able to get away from the saviors, using the sewer system. Rick fights Negan briefly, but nothing is accomplished in this moment other than Rick avoiding capture. And the ending I think caught most fans off guard. Carl is shown to have suffered a walker bite from two episodes prior. Now I know we've had the show remix itself from the comics, but never was it do this big of one. And it leaves me wondering if they will do, what the comics did not, by killing Negan. February can't come soon enough, if the quality is as good if not better than this episode.

Why oh Why??

[BinkyBee · 7/10 · 11 December 2017]

Why oh why is one of the best shows ever made being made to look like a walker victim? (Only without the blood and gore that made it famous, as this may offend someone who's just started watching) This episode really bites the big one! I gave it a 7/10 out of pity for the characters who did try their best to give us a story, even though I bet they were all asking "Wait!! This doesn't add up! Who's doing what, where, why? Are you serious?" Yes, I know, we still have to wait till the next half of the season for explanations etc. but come on Gimple!! TWD fans, people who were there FROM THE START!! and helped to make the show a hit through word of mouth and social media, deserve more and better than this. If you've something better to do, go and do it and please leave TWD with the last bit of life it has to someone who can make it like it was again. Bring back Frank Darabont!! He may be the only one able to save it from it's dying breath. Which brings me sadly to Carl. Again, Why oh Why?? He didn't want to leave! Chandler Riggs had just bought a house close to the set as he knew Carl had a lot of story left in him. But then gets 'called into the office' as the writers have to look at the 'bigger picture'. (Feel free to look up CR's interview on why he was sacked). The bigger picture is that the writers have just lost a lot more fans due to...ehhmm I don't know. Really, I don't know what just happened and why. I'll be there in February, all the time wishing for a miracle that Carl's gonna make it. He won't, and the bigger question is will TWD survive this? I hate to desert a sinking ship, but if Gimple doesn't go then I will.

I cant fking see sht

[sspureurubin · 4/10 · 16 August 2022]

I get that it takes place at night thats fine, but its a show, let me see what the hell is going on. I got my phone in full brightness and it doesnt work. TURN ON THE LIGHTS.

I had to get this off my chest, In currently watching it and it pisses me off.

The Best Episode Since the Season 7 Premiere...

[aidan-callari · 10/10 · 11 December 2017]

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of one star reviews for The Walking Dead on here, and I would like to begin a tangent really quick, so here goes.

Even if you didn't like it, YOU DO NOT NEED TO RATE IT WITH ONE STAR!

If you're really going to rate an episode one star, you need to give more reasoning than just "I didn't like it". Get more specific! Just a general dislike isn't 10% of 100%. An 'F' grade is a 60%, so that would mean a 6/10. Just saying, The Walking Dead isn't one star. The Room is one star. Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 is one star. Troll 2 is one star. Not The Walking Dead. I was seething watching the Season Four premiere of The Flash, and I gave it 6/10.

Okay. Tangent aside, I felt this was by far the best episode of Season 8A. The pacing was leaps and bounds better than in the past few episodes. It felt so interesting, that I WASN'T doing other things while watching, like I've been doing the past few weeks. There were also some great moments, like Rick's fight with Negan, Carl offering himself up to Negan, Maggie killing a Savior, and the standoff between Maggie and Simon with Jerry's life on the line. But, none of those even compared to the amazingly "shocking" and hard-hitting reveal that Carl had been bitten by a walker while hunting walkers with Siddiq a few episodes ago.

I say this was "surprising", because ever since around Season 4, the audience has known that if the show was focusing on one character for no apparent reason, it was likely they'd die. As soon as the flashback at the premiere with Rick and Carl came on, I knew one of them was gonna die. This isn't really a detriment to the show, though, as it's just that the fans are good at speculation. That's truly my one main flaw with this episode, though.

Overall, this episode was well-paced, exciting, surprising, and filled with important moments. There's no going back from here. It's war. Alexandria is destroyed, and Carl is dead. Our heroes are off to kill this guy, and I can't wait. All Out War, here we go!

10/10

How It's Gotta Be

[bobcobb301 · 6/10 · 12 December 2017]

When it comes to this show we cannot take the map of where things are, or the effectiveness of one party or the other too seriously. It's a zombie show, so obviously we have to take creative license.

It was just underwhelming as a whole. Negan and Carl's interaction and then the Negan and Rick fight were highlights, but there was really not enough of those moments considering this was a midseason finale.

And only one major character dying? In the biggest war in show history? That's ridiculous.

Writers day off!

[Tareks · 1/10 · 12 December 2017]

This is the dumbest episode in the history of TWD, They expect us to believe after what happened to the saviors in the last episode for them to attack on three fronts fully loaded with weapons and a lot of cars and trucks? Give us a break we are not so dumb as you expect us to be.whoever wrote this episode must be a temp guy as the writers and director are so board of doing the same job after all this years. You don't need to milk it anymore just finish it and get out while your heads high.